Protesters demand police leave Oaxaca

November 06, 2006

OAXACA, Mexico (AP) -- Thousands of anti-government demonstrators marched through this tense colonial city on Sunday, demanding the security forces abandon camps they set up last week to end a five-month protest. Masked police officers clutching automatic weapons watched the protesters from rooftops as they marched to a plaza about a block away from the encampments, yelling "Get out, federal police!" The leaders then formed a human chain to keep the crowd of 20,000 from confronting police, but about 400 people broke through and attacked the officers with stones and bottles. Some of the police lobbed rocks back, while officers on rooftops used sling shots to shoot marbles at those trying to confront the police. A radio station at Oaxaca's university, where the leftists had set up their base earlier this week, reported that gunmen had fired at some protesters near the university earlier Sunday, injuring a 21-year old student who was taken to a public hospital. About 4,000 federal police swooped into the city on Oct. 29 to restore order following a five-month protest that had rattled President Vicente Fox's administration, scared tourists out of Oaxaca and left at least nine people dead, mostly protesters shot by armed gangs. After being chased out of the city center, the demonstrators moved to the university. Police surrounded the campus last week and battled hundreds of protesters armed with gasoline bombs, stones and fireworks stuffed with glass and nails, leaving more than 30 people injured.